Month: June 2010

Demerit points, or merit points?

I often get the chance to speak with many drivers across Ontario, and Canada, to discuss their favourite topic and mine; driving. Of the more than 23 million drivers in Canada; of which over 9 million drivers are in Ontario, most people say they are good drivers. I ask them why they believe they are…



Are you too nice?

When is nice too nice? I can see traffic and pedestrians from my office window in our local downtown core. I just watched a driver begin a left turn to enter a parking lot, but stop to let a pedestrian cross. The pedestrian then stopped to let the driver continue. The waving back and forth…



High beams or low beams?

For the past twenty years, new vehicles sold in Canada have come with automatic Daytime Running Lights (DRL). These headlights came on immediately once we started the vehicle and released the parking brake. It was a great idea that was started by the military and major bus companies. It allowed other drivers, cyclists and pedestrians…



Does Graduated Licensing work?

There’s a large part of Canada and the US that have some form of a Graduated Drivers Licensing program. For the most part, it’s working but can it be improved? The good part of graduated licensing is that it allows new drivers, of any age, to practice a little more often before trying to get…



Lines….what lines?

When you play games, do you follow the rules or do you make them up as you go? Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always enjoyed a good game; whether it’s a board game, card game or sport and I always played fair. Playing by the rules is something we have to respect also…



Seatbelts….really?

Most of us have an opinion. Whether it’s correct or not, we’re entitled to it. But just like elbows, everyone’s got a couple of them. Having an opinion is fine, but if research shows a completely opposite result, why keep your own opinion? What I’m referring to is seatbelt use. Many people feel they can…



Time for summer playing!

The summer; don’t you love it! The beautiful weather, the fun activities and vacation time tend to make it appealing to drive more often during the summer than in winter. Transport Canada statistics show Canadians drive more in the summer. We also have more crashes in summer months. Since we’re doing trips more often, we…